They may seem to just eat, cry, sleep and poo, but three-month-old babies may already be aware of how many
animals are dangling from their mobiles.

A team of researchers at the University of Paris-South in France has found that babies have brain circuits dedicated to noticing quantity, adding weight to the argument that humans possess an innate sense of numbers.

“Our study shows that very young infants are sensitive to small changes in number, and the brain organisation that underlies the perception of object number and identity are established early during development,” said lead researcher Vronique Izard.

The researchers came to the conclusion after analysing an experiment. They fitted 36 infants with caps designed to record their brain waves.

They recorded the electrical activity evoked by the brain on the surface of the scalp as the three-month-old infants were watching a series of images on a screen. The number or identity of objects occasionally changed.

The team found that the infant brain responds to both changes, but in different brain regions, which map onto the same regions that activate in adults.

Folic acid for dementia

Want to stave off the risk of Alzheimer’s? Just start eating a diet of green vegetables rich in folic acid.

Researchers in South Korea have carried out a study and found that the deficiency of folates — a form of Vitamin B — in blood could lead to dementia.

Changes in micronutrients could be linked with the other typical signs that precede dementia, including weight loss and low blood pressure.

The researchers monitored a group of 500 South Korean pensioners for two years before coming to the conclusion.

They found that 3.5 per cent of their study group were folate deficient to start with. These people were 3.5 times more likely to have developed dementia by the end of the study.

Women told to forget pills

Shunning the use of Pill, one of the most important medical breakthroughs of the ‘60s that heralded sexual freedom, has signalled a new “revolution in contraception”.

In order to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies in the UK, women are being told to consider injections and implants instead of the Pill. Forgetting to take the Pill is the most common reason for unwanted pregnancy.
A national campaign of 10 million pounds would be started to raise awareness among youngsters about the full range of contraception methods available.

Sexual health campaigners have maintained that long-term contraception methods are more reliable. According to the UK Department of Health statistics, more then three quarters women forget to take their pill on two or more consecutive days each month, meaning they risk falling pregnant.

Hazards in baby powder

Parents who want to reduce their infants' exposure to phthalates, chemicals suspected of impairing male
reproductive function, should not apply baby lotions or powders — except for medical reasons. So concludes a study published online this week in the journal Pediatrics, says Washington Post.

Phthalates — man-made chemicals used in the manufacture of lubricants, cosmetics and plastic products including children’s toys — get into the air, liquids and the skin. Young children have been shown to have especially high concentrations. But although researchers have speculated that sucking and chewing on toys and playing on dusty floors may account for this, no study has looked at sources of children's exposure.

The Pediatrics study measured phthalates in the urine of 163 infants (2-28 months old) against their mothers'
reports of the babies' behaviour in the previous 24 hours. The mothers were asked about use of infant powders, diaper creams, wipes, shampoo and lotion. They were also asked how many hours their
infants played with items such as teething rings and pacifiers.